A Ghost of a Chance
by Glory For Sleep
Summary: Dying while trying to scheme May? Harley didn't expect that. Waking up as an earthbound ghost? Harley didn't expect that. Being forced to bunk with Giratina? Harley didn't expect that either. But maybe some good can come out of this. Harley/Giratina. On hiatus.
1. A Scheme Gone Wrong

Hey peoples!

Well, it's finally here! My Harley/Giratina fic! Like I said, this pairing has easily become my most favorite human/pokemon pairing, so I thought it'd be fun to try a chaptered fic for it.

I'm dedicating this first chapter to Mattecat, who is awesome! :D

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

**Chapter 1: A Scheme Gone Wrong**

* * *

"That brown-haired…blue-eyed…small-boned…_brat_!"

Harley's fangs clenched and he kept them clenched until the muscles around his jaw began to ache. Both of his hands tightened into fists, and anyone who could've seen the venomous hue swirling around in his metallic green eyes would've taken a step back out of precaution.

"I can't believe she…!" Harley let out another growl, cutting off his own sentence.

Right in front of him was a large television that hung from the wall, which was usually used to show what was going on in the outside arena of the contest hall – the appeals and battles being performed by the coordinators of the contest commencing here – but now that the appeal round was over it was displaying the competitors who had just been chosen by the judges to advance to the next round of the event.

Harley had made it to the next round, his picture lined up with the others, so why was he mad, practically glaring at the television as if he was ready to pounce on it and beat it to a pulp?

Because _she_ had made it, too.

"Damn brat!" he hissed, keeping his tone low so he wouldn't attract the attention of any of the other coordinators that had surrounded him to see the results of the contest's appeal round – not that he cared if anyone heard him. He was willing to shout his hatred for _her _from the nearest rooftop, though because he had to be present for his role in the upcoming battle round, he couldn't leave the room and risk missing his turn up on the stage with whomever he was set to battle against.

Harley turned his head, sending his glare to _her_ as she stood across the room, eyeing the television from a safe distance. The relieved grin on her face was evidence that she had noticed her success in the appeal round, and she met her blaziken's gaze as she went to pat her on the red-feathered arm, obviously proud of how her signature pokemon had put on an amazing-enough performance to advance them to the next round.

"Cac…turne?"

Harley suddenly blinked, turning his head to eye his beloved cacturne as he cocked his head at his master, obviously wondering what he was thinking about – though he somehow already had an idea. Cacturne's performance had been good enough to help Harley advance to the next round, but personally Harley was certain that his pokemon deserved far more praise than…_hers_. Cacturne only let out a sigh, however, now convinced that his master was indeed clinging to the grudge he had always held against the brunette-haired teen with the blaziken. He was tempted to try to calm Harley, but he knew that such attempts would be useless; Harley was already appearing as if he wanted to pull the green, triangular-shaped hat that was on his head and rip it apart with his teeth, most likely imagining the hat's material to be the flesh of the teenage girl.

"Damn…brat!" Harley said, yet again repeating the same curse – not that he cared about that, either. "I can't believe she made it to the next round, too" – he met Cacturne's yellow stare – "and did you hear the cheers she got? I can't believe the audience is cheering more for her than they did for us! Our appeal was obviously ten times better – much better than anything she ever and could ever come up with!" He glared back at the television. "They obviously wouldn't know true talent if it smacked them across the face!"

"Who wouldn't know true talent if it smacked them across the face?"

Harley's face fell, not realizing that his last sentence had been articulated loud enough for someone to hear. He turned around, meeting the verdigris-colored eyes of none other than Soledad, one of his other coordinating rivals, as she approached from the side, her loyal pidgeot following behind her.

Immediately Harley put on an expression of joy, completely contradicting the hatred he was portraying seconds ago. "Why, Soledad, how are you, hon?"

Soledad frowned, obviously still wondering what he had meant earlier, but pushed the matter aside as she shrugged, brushing a bang of pinkish-red from her face. "I'm quite good," she said, then turning her eyes to the television, flashing a smile at the fact that she had also made it to the battle round. "I see you've made it with flying colors, too, Harley."

"But of course," Harley said, grinning big, standing up proudly with his long, amethyst-colored hair shining in the overhead lights. "What else would you expect from my darling Cacturne?"

Soledad had to smile amusingly at that, always expecting such an answer from Harley. After all, his devotion to his cacturne was about as strong as the connection between a parent and child. "Well," she said, "it looks like Drew's made it as well…and so has May."

Harley went rigid at the mention of…_her_, fighting the urge to curse her out in front of Soledad. He forced a grin, swallowing hard. "Yes…" he said. "Wonderful Drew and…sweet…sweet…_sweet_…May."

"Something wrong?" Soledad asked, having caught the constriction in his tone.

Harley quickly put his hands up. "Oh, none at all, my dear Soledad! Everything's just peachy, as it usually is! In fact, I'm so glad you, Drew, and May made it to the battle round, too; it makes everything so much more exciting!"

Soledad eyed Harley as he clapped happily, sensing something suspicious despite his veil of joyfulness that was as about as obvious as a hammer to the head. She remained silent as she studied him, swearing that she could see the skin around his neck grow glossy – perspiration, obviously. She eventually let out a deep sigh. "You're not going to…try anything…are you?"

"By whatever do you mean, hon?"

"As in…a scheme…a prank…something to ruin someone's chances of winning this contest?"

At that, Harley let out a theatrical gasp, bringing his hand to his mouth in a feminine manner. "I can't believe you think I would go back to my awful ways, Soledad! Don't you see I'm a changed man now? I've pledged abstinence, hon, abstinence from those evil things I used to do!"

Soledad glanced around, noticing that a few of the nearby coordinators were staring; Harley's usually-dramatic idiosyncrasies had yet again attracted attention – not that that could be avoided. Soledad rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly. "I know…" she said, her tone quiet. "It's just…"

"Soledad, I assure you," Harley said, smiling, "cheating is no longer the way I roll. I win with fairness now. If I lose this contest, then so be it, because that only means that either you, Drew, or May have a chance at winning, and that would make me happy all the same!"

Soledad swallowed. She had always been aware of Harley's cheating tactics when it came to contests and she only worried about it more when Drew had confirmed during the Kanto Grand Festival that the man was still up to his no good tricks. However, she had also noticed that when she, May, Drew, and Harley had started their coordinating venture into the Johto region, Harley seemed to have stopped scheming and pranking and really had turned fair. She had been relieved by this, of course, but with how he had been acting recently during this contest, her old suspicions couldn't help but resurrect themselves from the graveyard of her mind.

Because despite Harley's assurances, she still felt that something wasn't right.

"Harley," Soledad began, "I've known you for a long time. I love you like a brother, but…I still can't help but worry about you. I know how you work and one of these days you're going to do something bad, and…well…what goes around comes around."

Harley frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"Eventually you're going to have to pay for it. Don't you believe in karma?"

"I'm not one for that philosophy mumbo-jumbo," Harley said, swishing his hair in an arrogant manner, "and didn't I just remind you that I've changed?"

"Well, you tend to hold a lot of grudges…"

Harley was silenced by that. He did hold grudges; in fact, he had been holding a grudge against May since he first met her. He had tried to push it away when they all began their Johto journey, but it had been edging its way back up the crumbling cliff he had tossed it down. As he watched her win more and more contests, leaving him with less ribbons than what she had, it wasn't long before that hungry grudge made its way back to the cliff's top and consumed him.

"I don't do that anymore," he suddenly said, forcing his smile to return, though his eyebrows then pinched together. "Don't you believe me, Soledad?"

Soledad turned her eyes to the tiled floor, muttering, "I want to believe…"

"Then believe," Harley said, "because it's the truth. Cross my heart, poke my ribs, read my lips - they tell no fibs."

Soledad opened her mouth, but said nothing. She closed it, turning around to depart. Before she did so, though, she turned her head to eye Harley out of the corner of her eye. "Harley…" she said. "Like I said, we've been friends for a long time, but despite that…" She let out another sigh. "Sometimes, I just don't understand you…"

And she walked off, Pidgeot meeting Cacturne's eyes one last time before she followed her master.

Harley stared after her, his eyes slowly narrowing at her last words. All sense of happiness was gone from his figure, though now it wasn't because of May. "Of course you don't understand me," he whispered to himself. "No one ever does…no one ever did." He turned his eyes away, wanting to grit his teeth. "And no one ever will."

Cacturne eyed his master with sympathy, very well aware that he had been…different…and indefinable his whole life. 'Misunderstood'…that was the appropriate word, and sometimes Cacturne wished his master was understood. Maybe if he was, he wouldn't get so angry at anyone around him for whatever reason; he wouldn't hold grudges and gain the trust of others just to bash it down later. The grass and dark type felt his shoulders sag, noticing that his master was still staring at the ground, his hat shading his face from the overhead lights and giving his eyes a sense of despondency.

Eventually, Harley shook his head, the saddened look fading away from his gaze, being replaced by that familiar look of hatred when he gazed back at the television, which was now beginning to show who was set to battle who.

And, ironically, he was scheduled to battle May first.

"Figures," he snorted, though he then smiled deviously. "Doesn't matter, though. I've got an idea on how we could win this contest and get May out of our hair for once and for all. My darling Cacturne, I need your help to do it, so listen closely…"

Cacturne stepped towards his master as the man began to whisper his plan to him, the idea of pranking May sounding somewhat alien since they hadn't done it in such a long time. Nonetheless, Cacturne memorized every word Harley said, nodding in acceptance when he was done.

Afterwards, Harley and May were called to the stage for their battle, and Harley winked at Cacturne before departing, leaving the grass and dark type in the waiting room as he made his way to the arena outside. As he did so, he thought over Soledad's words, comparing them to what he was about to do, and he scoffed as he muttered out one last sentence:

"'Karma' my ass…"

* * *

The hordes of people that filled the booths in the contest hall's arena were exploding with cheer, practically articulating their excitement for the battle to come. The female MC for the contest was bouncing around the table where three judges sat, ready to watch the battle and announce the winner for when the time was right. Until then, though, they remained silent, letting the audience's cheering serve as the sign that the two coordinators set to fight one another were expected to pull off an amazing match.

"Are you all ready to rumble?" the MC said into her microphone, the audience growing louder in response. She laughed, now turning her eyes to the two coordinators that were positioning themselves on the large battlefield in the middle of the arena, sunlight that was coming in through the ceiling windows raining down onto the stage. "Here are the first two coordinators ready to battle, and it's none other than May from Petalburg and Harley from Slateport!"

May waved happily to her fans, Harley blowing kisses to them.

Eventually, May glanced at Harley, her sapphire-colored eyes bright. "No hard feelings about whatever the outcome of this battle is?" she said, smiling. "As usual?"

Harley grinned slowly. "Of course, hon. No hard feelings at all…as usual."

"With that settled," the MC said, her curly hair bouncing to her swift movements, "let's get this battle started!"

Taking that as the cue to begin, May threw out a pokeball, releasing her wartortle, who landed elegantly on the stage and smirked at the surrounding audience. Harley narrowed his eyes, but then tossed out his own pokeball, releasing his ariados, who twitched his pincers, immediately preparing himself for battle, very much used to the familiar routine.

"Prepare to dance, doll face," Harley muttered to himself, fighting the urge to grin deviously as he sent Ariados forward, May commanding Wartortle to do the same.

* * *

Cacturne quickly made his way down the various hallways that consisted a usual contest hall. Unsurprisingly, they were deserted, the coordinators that occasionally filled them too busy watching the match between his master and May from the waiting room or outside to pose a threat to what he was trying to do – and he let out a relieved sigh at this. The grass and dark type maneuvered through doorways and around turns, his yellow eyes scanning the walls for any directions that would hint where the stairs were located. He blinked when he caught sight of a door on the wall not too far off, and, looking around one last time to make sure no one was following him or was able to see what he was doing, he quickly pushed open the said door and made his way up the staircase on the other side.

Eventually, he pushed open another door, the cheers from the audience in the contest arena practically hitting him in the face as he emerged into the said stadium – right on the metallic catwalk that was high above the floor, overlooking the stage and the battle currently commencing between May and his master. He saw his good friend, Ariados, be pushed back from Wartortle's water gun attack and he felt his brows furrow at the sight. He turned his head up, walking towards the edge of the catwalk where he had May clear in his sights and he glanced up at the area of ceiling right above her. Remembering Harley's orders, Cacturne lined up the ends of his arms in front of him, using the sunlight that was coming in from the ceiling windows to begin charging up a solar beam attack. He made sure to remain silent while doing so, not wanting to alert anyone in the room that he was there – though he could tell that the sounds of the battle below was practically blocking out any other intruding noises.

Cacturne could feel himself smirk as his solar beam grew close to being ready; this scheme almost seemed easy…

…too easy…

* * *

Drew hummed determinedly as he walked down the empty hallways of the contest hall. He usually would've watched his rivals, May and Harley, battle it out on the television back in the waiting room, but due to his conversation with Soledad only seconds ago about Harley acting strange, Drew agreed with the pink-red-haired woman that the man was possibly up to something.

Harley did hold a grudge towards May – Drew knew that, and he also knew how many times Harley had tried to cheat in the past when it came to winning a contest against her, pulling off dirty tricks to get his way. Drew had to admit, though, that ever since the start of their Johto journey, Harley seemed to have dropped his vendetta with May. Drew had kept his guard up, however, somehow knowing that such a truce wouldn't last long; undoubtedly Harley would eventually turn back into that scheming, amethyst-haired, flamboyant monster that seemed obsessed with making May's coordinating life a living hell.

But, no, Harley wouldn't have a chance to do anything this time. Drew would make sure of that.

Flipping a bang of chartreuse from his emerald eyes, Drew searched the hallways. He swore he had spotted a flash of green not too long ago and when he confirmed it to be Cacturne, Drew made sure to keep his presence hidden as he remained in pursuit of Harley's loyal ally. Usually Cacturne was Harley's main partner in crime, and with the fact that the Pokemon had been making his way down the hallways in a sneaky manner, Drew was certain that he would lead him to whatever concoction Harley was trying to create.

Eventually, the teen came across a door that was slightly ajar - and right around the area where he had lost sight of Cacturne. Drew could hear the faint sounds of the cheering audience from the outside arena flow down the staircase on the other side. He narrowed his eyes and slid past the door, peeking around the corner to make sure Cacturne wasn't around to spot him. When he verified that he wasn't, Drew made his way up the stairs, his shoes clacking against the metal material that consisted them, though somehow Drew knew that Cacturne wasn't exactly in a position to hear his approach.

It wasn't long before he opened the door at the top of the staircase, cringing slightly when the loud sounds of the cheering audience met his senses. He oriented himself, realizing in that split second that he was on the catwalk that hovered above the stage, the audience, and most other things in the stadium. He didn't bother to look around, though, or see how the battle between Harley and May was going, because not too far off stood Cacturne, the solar beam that was charging between the ends of his arms now ready.

Oblivious to Drew's presence behind him, Cacturne raised his arms, pointing them to the area of ceiling right above May.

Realizing what Cacturne was going to do, Drew's jaw dropped, and he lunged forward. "Hey!" he roared, both panic and anger crossing his face. "What're you doing?!"

Cacturne blinked, swiftly turning his head to spot Drew coming towards him. The grass and dark type jumped in place, then stumbled as he lost his balance. He fell back right as his solar beam launched from his arms, heading towards the ceiling, hitting a spot a few feet away than from what was originally planned…

* * *

Harley wanted to smirk as he caught sight of a glowing beam protrude from the catwalk above out of the corner of his eye. He heard it strike the ceiling, causing the ground to slightly shake, and at that moment the audience, the judges, the MC, May, and the battle altogether seemed to grow quiet, all eyes turning up to notice that an area of the ceiling was beginning to crumble, pieces large enough to squash any-sized human being beginning to fall towards the stage. Gasps emitted from everyone in the room.

Instead for Harley.

The amethyst-haired man finally allowed his smirk to show. He didn't bother to look up or even put on a dramatic pose to go along with the act, because in a few milliseconds those pieces of concrete and steel would fall on May, assuring that she would be out of contests and out of his way forever – just as he had planned.

When those few milliseconds passed, the concrete fell…

…and landed right on top of Harley.

The audience, judges, and MC gasped again.

May nearly stumbled back.

The coordinators in the waiting room dropped their jaws.

Soledad felt her heart plummet.

Cacturne widened his eyes as he realized what had happened.

And Drew's face paled to a porcelain hue as he gulped.

"…Oops."

* * *

**To Be Continued**

* * *

...oh snap.

Well, the next chapter is when all the fun starts - and in the form of everyone's favorite demonic basilisk legendary. ;D


	2. What to Do When You Are Dead

Hey peoples!

Here's the next chapter!

Thanks for reviewing: ArcanineOod, Saf Dawnheart, dragonchild25, Cookiekitten, Dreamin'Ferno, and Dragonluvr1993! :D

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

**Chapter 2: What to Do When You Are Dead**

* * *

"Move! Move! Move!"

The doors to the hospital's emergency ward flew open, paramedics rushing in, pulling a long gurney behind them as fast as they could towards any of the nearby doctors' attentions. As they raced down the hall, in which most of the rooms were already filled with patients on the verge of dying, a doctor tore himself away from his current case, letting his assistants handle it as long as they possibly could as he ran over to the new patient that was laying lifeless on the bed of the gurney.

His eyes widened at the sight of what looked like an amethyst-haired man, bruised all over, clothes viciously torn, and bleeding in places that made the doctor wonder if a wild pokemon had attacked him. Despite this, it wasn't long before the doctor's frown returned, tightening on the spot; there were many patients in this area that seemed as if someone or something had attempted to tear them into pieces. This case was no different, and the doctor quickly regained his sense of sternness.

Having to keep running to keep up with the gurney, the doctor snapped his gaze to the paramedic who was pushing it down the hall from its front. He kept his voice both fast and firm. "What happened?"

"Harley Davidson," the paramedic began, reciting any of the information he had had time to gain from the witnesses before he had to rush to the local hospital. "In his twenties. Coordinator. He was in a battle round with May Maple – another coordinator – at a contest that was happening downtown when the ceiling suddenly caved in and fell on top of him. We were able to get him out fast once we got there. He's not as torn up on the outside as he could've been, but that doesn't mean he's saved."

The doctor didn't ask any more questions, instead grabbing the free side of the gurney and aiding the paramedics in bringing it to one of the free rooms at the end of the hall. Assistant doctors and pokemon who had caught sight of the scene quickly appeared by his side, ready to help in any way they could.

Soon, the gurney carrying Harley was pushed into a medium-sized room, the main doctor and his assistants immediately flooding into it, grabbing any of the nearby medical equipment and bringing them to their patient. The main doctor checked Harley's pulse, his face falling when he learned that it was weak – almost weak enough to be considered dead. Needless to say, it was only a matter of seconds before the unconscious coordinator was hooked up to a medical monitor, the fact that the heart's line upon its screen was barely jagged convincing the doctors and medical pokemon to rush around even more. Some worked on getting oxygen into his lungs, more worked on removing fragments of concrete that had impaled his flesh, and even more worked on stopping him from bleeding out of the various gashes all across his body.

Outside of the room's window stood three people, having followed the paramedics from the contest to the emergency ward of the hospital. They remained still, the chaotic world all around them fading into nothingness as they focused their shocked and worried eyes on Harley. One of the people, Soledad, slowly placed her hand against the glass, feeling helpless as she watched the doctors and their pokemon struggle to save Harley, and May and Drew were just as pale as she was. None of them had been in this type of situation before – none of them had ever witnessed seeing a person they had known personally battle the war between life and death. May tightened her hold on Harley's belt, which she had managed to take off of him when he was pulled out from the pieces of concrete back at the contest hall and put into an ambulance. Luckily, Harley's pokemon had been safe in their pokeballs, in which the minimized forms of the said devices had been enough to protect them from getting crushed like their master did.

Ariados stood behind May; the rocks hadn't touched him when he had been on the battlefield, and therefore he was safe and sound. His pincers clicked weakly, because, despite this, he wished he had been the one to get hurt instead of Harley. When May noticed his state, she forced an assuring smile and kneeled down to pat the spiderlike pokemon on his back.

"It's going to be okay," she said, her voice light. "Harley's gonna get out of this just fine." She turned her head and looked up at Soledad, at the moment her eyes growing glossy and her tone becoming shaky. "He...he _is _going to be okay, right?"

Soledad didn't answer. She closed her eyes, stifling tears.

"Damn it!" the main doctor hissed after he had shot a look at Harley's medical monitor. The line was almost straight, that antagonizing dull siren that everyone in the room knew all too well filling the air. "Nothing's working!"

The assistants surrounding him rushed around even faster than they had been doing before, this time bringing out a defibrillator, in which the doctor lunged for the pads and pushed them against Harley's chest.

"Charging! Clear!"

Harley's body jolted as electrical energy surged through it, but yet there was no response – no change.

"Charging again! Clear!"

His body jolted again, and the doctor looked at the monitor, face falling at the sign of no improvement, and his next words were inevitable:

"We're not going to lose him!"

_

* * *

_

Ug…what…what happened?

Harley opened his eyes. Darkness surrounded him, and it felt like he was floating - as if he was weightless. He looked around, eyebrows rising as he tried to identify where he possibly could be, though such curiosity was diminished when he brought a hand to his head. Memories of standing in a large contest arena appeared in his mind, then the sound of a deep roar or explosion – as if a building had fallen – ran its tune through his ears. He remembered the sound growing closer and closer, and yet all he did was keep his eyes on May, who was on the other side of the arena's battlefield, staring up with a horrific look in her eyes.

And then…it had all gone black.

Before Harley could think anymore of it, a spot amongst the black space in front of him suddenly burst with light – as if someone or something had pierced through it on the other side, letting in a beam of radiant white. Harley grimaced, covering his eyes with his arm, trying to peer past it all the same in an attempt to figure out what was going on.

Suddenly, that very small splotch of light expanded in all directions, swallowing the darkness all around him and revealing a room. He immediately sailed his gaze around, noticing that it looked like a room in a hospital of some sort. A few feet in front of him stood a crowd of doctors and medical pokemon, who were surrounding a stretcher. One of the doctors pulled away from the group, still holding the pads of what looked like one of those defibrillator machines, which made Harley's eyebrow rise. The doctor's face was calm, though it was evident that he had just been panicking about something seconds ago.

"Alright," he said, the other doctors and pokemon relaxing slightly. "His heart seems to be stable now. Thank Arceus."

"He's still unconscious, though," a nurse pointed out, looking up from the body that was lying on the stretcher, blocking Harley from seeing it.

The doctor shook his head. "Keep checking his vital signs and make sure they remain stable as well. Those are the most important. Have you finished with his outer wounds?"

"We've cleaned him up as much as we could, doc," answered another assistant – a male one.

"Take him to another ward, then, and keep an eye on him. In this state, anything can turn downhill again."

The assistants nodded, the pokemon mirroring them. The monitor attached to the patient's body was beeping slowly. Beeping, but slowly.

Looking around once more, Harley decided to make his presence known. "Excuse me?" he called out. "What am I doing here? How did I get here?"

No one answered him. It seemed as if they hadn't even acknowledged the fact that he had spoken.

Harley huffed, placing his hands on his hips. "Ignoring me? That's just rude! Hey!"

The amethyst-haired man walked forward, attempting to grab the shoulder of one of the nearby doctors. However, when he did so, nothing happened; the doctor didn't even flinch.

Harley took his hand away at that, frowning bewilderedly. He looked back at the main doctor, who walked out the door and towards three people who were standing right in front of the room's window. Harley's eyes narrowed as he focused his attention on the said characters, and his face fell once he recognized who they were.

"Soledad? Drew?" His voice grew lower. "…May?"

He walked forward and towards the glass, wondering why Soledad didn't seem to notice his presence – definitely with the fact that he was staring right at her. He turned his eyes to Drew, who had his attention focused on the doctor, and then to May, who was looking up at the doctor from her kneeled position, one of her hands on an Ariados' back.

Harley's eyes flashed.

Hey…that was _his_ ariados!

And…why did Soledad, May, and Drew seem so pale?

Harley blinked, even more confused than before. He looked at the doctor when he began to speak to May, Drew, and Soledad.

"We've managed to stabilize him," the doctor said, his voice grim. "We've stopped any bleeding and made sure there was no internal bleeding. Right now, he's still unconscious, and we're going to move him into a staying room for monitoring and further treatment. Hopefully, he'll wake up from this sometime soon…"

"And if he doesn't?" Soledad asked, her voice weak.

The doctor sighed. "Well…there's only one thing that can cause that."

Soledad's shoulders sagged. Drew rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close – and mainly out of support for her rather than his own anguish towards the situation. It wasn't long before May did the same.

Harley let out a groan of frustration. Who were they talking about? And why the hell was no one listening or looking at him? What was he? _Invisible_ or something?

The coordinator turned around, now facing the stretcher, able to see the person that was on it.

He froze in place.

The person lying on the stretcher, his cacturne-themed clothes torn up and pads covering over various areas of ripped flesh, various medical machines keeping him stabilized, was someone Harley knew by heart.

Himself.

Hundreds of thoughts flashed through Harley's mind as he came closer to the stretcher, and he nearly collapsed at the overwhelming shock of it all. One of these very thoughts was the possibility that this was all a joke or a dream, and the man quickly brought up his arm to pinch it and wake himself up. However, once he actually paid attention to himself, he realized something was different.

His skin. It was blue – a misty blue. And he could see through it, too. He raised his hand, able to see the ceiling past the ghostly hue of his flesh. His breath quickened.

"Wha-what's going on?" he said out loud. He glanced around vigorously, desperate for answers – any kind of answers. He was beginning to panic.

Why did he look this way?

Why could he see himself lying on a stretcher?

_What was going on?_

As he brought his gaze back down to the stretcher, he didn't notice that shadows had begun to slide in from the corners of the room behind him. These shadows, shifting and turning and building on one another, eventually began to form a body – a large, non-human body in which the head nearly touched the ceiling of the room. Two wings, red spikes attached to each of them, spread out, protruding from a long, serpentine neck. Six short legs – three on each side of a scaled torso – planted themselves firmly on the ground, golden claws flexing outward when they broke free from their shadowlike shell. A long tail swished back and forth, the red eyes on the beast's crowned head opening as the rest of its body took shape, gaining their natural colors.

It brought its eyes down, growling slightly as it focused them on a human below, who was completely oblivious to its entrance.

However, Harley eventually grew the feeling that he was being watched. He turned around, nearly running into the chest of the beast.

Slowly, he looked up, his eyes meeting its monstrous glare.

His jaw fell open.

The beast continued to stare down at him, growling louder than before, revealing fangs that appeared as if they could pierce through any material. The beast bent its neck, its head lowering until the tip of its snout was mere inches away from Harley's face…

…and it smirked, a feminine voice coming out seconds later:

"What's up?"

Harley's jaw remained open.

And then he screamed.

Nearly flying back altogether, Harley tumbled over onto his back, staring at the beast, whose eyes had gained a more humane (albeit arrogant) tone to them.

The beast seemed unfazed, only arching a brow. "What's wrong with you?"

"Y-y-you…" Harley stuttered, shaking.

"Me?" The beast frowned. "What did I do wrong? I'm not the one who just screamed like a little pansy girl."

"You can talk!"

"Like _you've_ never seen a talking pokemon before. All legendaries can talk to anyone in this kind of position, stupid. After all, we're usually the ones who help you 'move on'."

Harley only continued to stare up at her, breathing heavier than he was before.

At that, the beast pulled back, rolling her eyes and letting out a frustrated sigh. "Listen, human," she began, pointing a claw at him. "It's obvious that you don't know crap about what's going on, so in order to make my job easier I will enlighten you." One of her wings came forward, its tip pointing at her. "The name's Giratina. I'm known to your pathetic race as being the symbolism of death and everything in between. Gee, what else is new?" She snorted. "In case you haven't guessed already, I'm a legendary, but surely you know what those are, don't you? If you don't, you're a retard. If you do, you're probably still a retard, otherwise you probably wouldn't be lying on that stretcher over there."

Harley cast a glance behind him and at his body, gulping. "I…I know what a legendary is…and I-I know who you are…I just never thought I would be meeting you…I just never thought you were _real_…"

"Oh?" Giratina's frown tightened. "Well, guess what, human? I'm more real than your sense of masculinity. That should be pretty convincing."

Despite the moment - despite that he was still scared of the legendary in front of him - Harley's eyebrows had to furrow at her words. The subject was soon dropped, though, when he looked around and caught sight of the nearby doctors, noticing that none of them seemed to be acknowledging how a giant demonic basilisk was in the room.

"Why can't they see you?" he asked.

"I'm in ghost mode," Giratina answered. "If I wasn't, then mortals would be able to see me. Simple math, human. Besides," she added, shooting a look at his body on the stretcher, "you are, too, which is why you can see me right now, and why I hauled myself over here to fetch your ass."

"W-what?!"

"Knock, knock? You're a ghost, human."

Harley's face fell. "I'm…I'm _dead_?!"

"In a way, yes," Giratina said. "But not entirely. You see, when people turn into ghosts, it's usually because they have died and their spirit is bounded to Earth until they receive judgment from Arceus-"

"_The_ Arceus?"

Giratina rolled her eyes. "Yes, human, _the _Arceus. Don't interrupt me.

"Anyway, there are special cases that break this usual routine, and you happen to be one of these special cases. Instead of dying from whatever nearly killed you, you're in a coma – you're on the borderline between life and death – and despite that you aren't fully dead, your soul released itself from its body. Because of this, when you receive judgment from Arceus, you might have the option of coming back to life instead of moving on to one of the next worlds, which means your soul will be returned to your body and you'll wake up and continue your happy hunky-dory life as if nothing had ever happened in the first place.

"Now, _my_ role among the legendaries – or, at least my main role – is to find and guide earthbound spirits to Turnback Cave, where they will be judged by Arceus. Based on what they did in life – or whether Arceus is in a pissy mood or not – the soul will be sent to live for eternity in a really happy place with sparkles and fairies and daisies and rainbows. However, they can also be sent to a really bad place where they'll burn for eternity and everything smells like soup."

Harley couldn't believe what was going on. Was this all true? Or was this all a dream he couldn't escape from? He wished it were. He looked back at Soledad, May, and Drew, who were still conversing with the doctor.

Giratina followed, eyeing the three humans. "That your family?"

Harley didn't answer.

Giratina frowned smugly when her scarlet gaze fell upon Drew. "That kid's got weird hair..." She looked back at Harley, and grinned. "Then again, yours isn't much different."

"Thi-this can't be happening…" Harley suddenly spoke.

"What? Your hair?"

"No!" The man got up. "This! This thing in general! I can't be…_dead_! I can't be a _ghost_! I can't be hearing you and talking to you! This is preposterous! This is insane! This must be a dream! Or a mental state! Yeah, that's it! This is a mental state and you're just a hallucination!"

Giratina frowned. "What does this look like? Some horror flick? Please don't call me a hallucination. I don't know about other people, but I find such a term offensive. Now, come on-"

"I am _not _going with you!" Harley snapped. "I'm not leaving this place. Soon I'll escape this fake reality and be back with my lovely pokemon!"

"Really, human?" Giratina shook her head in disappointment. "You're making this ten times harder than it has to be. But if you want to be a stubborn pain-in-my-ass, then it just gives me an excuse to do this."

The demonic basilisk raised her tail, and then flicked it to the left.

Before Harley could blink, he was suddenly pulled to the side and onto the ground. He gasped, feeling something tighten around his neck, and his hands came up in an attempt to claw at it. However, he felt nothing there, and Giratina chuckled. She moved her tail to the right, and Harley slid that way by the imaginary leash. He choked, struggling to escape.

"You're a bigger moron than I thought," Giratina said, raising her tail so that Harley was now forced onto his feet. "Do you honestly think you can defy me? When you enter the world as a ghost, you belong to me. There's no escape and there's no freedom until you're judged by Arceus. Tough luck, human, but there's no breaking away from my authority."

Harley felt the force against his neck loosen as Giratina lowered her tail, and he gasped – or, at least what felt like a gasp. It was evident that in his ghostlike state, he wouldn't actually be breathing in any oxygen.

"Now," Giratina continued, "are you going to follow me, or do I have to drag you by your panties?"

Harley wanted to glare at the demonic basilisk, but he didn't want to know what other controls she had over him while he was a ghost. Because of this, he turned his head and cast one last saddened look at May, Drew, and Soledad. He sighed, still not believing that this was happening.

"I thought so," Giratina said, turning around with a smirk on her face. "Let's go."

The legendary stepped forward, looking at the ceiling of the room. Then, she jumped upward, fading into the ceiling. Harley arched an eyebrow, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do, though this thought was pushed away when he felt a familiar, invisible force tighten around his neck. It wasn't strong and therefore it wasn't choking him, but he couldn't help but wonder what it was for.

A few seconds later, he was suddenly pulled up. His eyes widened and he flailed around as he passed through floors and floors of the hospital, not changing the physical appearance of any of the ceilings he was being pulled into, nor alerting any of the mortals who were on these floors. Eventually, he saw the blueness of the actual sky, and he realized he was outside, the afternoon sunlight shining from the side. He could see Giratina a few feet above him as she flew with motionless wings, the tip of her tail not far from his head, which proved that she was indeed controlling where he went. He looked down and gulped.

He could see the entire city from their altitude, which was growing higher and higher with each passing second. He gritted his teeth anxiously, not wanting to know what would happen if Giratina ceased her control over his body. He may have already been dead, but the idea of falling to the ground from this height still wasn't appealing.

"Calm down, human," Giratina said, having caught sight of Harley's evident nervousness when she looked down. "Sinnoh is far away, and this is the fastest way to get there. Just chill and enjoy the ride, though if for any purpose we have to do this again, you're hauling your own ass."

Harley didn't say anything, looking back down at the hospital they had just left from. He felt his shoulders sag as he thought of his pokemon, as well as May, Drew, and Soledad.

"Get over them, human," Giratina said; it had been easy to guess what Harley had been thinking about. Harley looked up at her, raising an eyebrow at how her eyes had grown dim, her tone quiet as she added, "They probably won't even miss you anyway…"

Harley opened his mouth to say something, but closed it seconds later. Instead, he brought his hand up, sighing at the fact that he could see the afternoon sunlight right on the other side.

_Now what do I do?_

* * *

**To Be Continued**

* * *

Anyone else smell approaching mayhem? ;D


	3. Punishment

Hey peoples!

Well, I wanted to update YNA, but I'm kind of beat from writing about monsters. So, here's an update to Ghost instead!

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Punishment**

* * *

"Hey, human. Wake the hell up!"

Harley shifted, his eyes flashing open. He hadn't actually been asleep – in fact, as a ghost, he couldn't even determine _how_ he would fall asleep. Instead, he had tried to sort out everything that had happened recently as Giratina led him over the rest of Johto and to the Sinnoh region, where Turnback Cave had been rumored to lay. He had never really known much about the mythical cemetery, too busy with his coordinating to care about such things as the mythos of the legendaries, or the mythos of anything for that matter. At the moment, he was still skeptic of the fact that he was actually dead.

"Seriously, human," Giratina said, landing in front of the entrance to a large cave that Harley immediately assumed to be Turnback, "I wasn't kidding when I said that the next time we had to fly anywhere, you were hauling your own ass."

Harley couldn't help but glare, still hovering in the air despite that Giratina had touched ground. "I was just sleeping!"

"Pfft. Ghosts can't sleep, you retard, as the peanut-sized brain you used to have is no longer there to request it." Giratina's frown tightened, her red eyes narrowing. "Besides, you were whining and crying about how you were too young to die the entire trip here…and all the rest of that tauros crap that gets on my nerves. If I had a nickel every time I've escorted a ghost who did the exact same thing, I would have enough money to buy a better job."

"And maybe a better face…" Harley muttered.

Suddenly, he felt the hold Giratina had had on him disappear, and he let out a girlish squeak as he dropped and landed harshly on the ground.

"Don't test your luck with me," Giratina hissed. "It just gives me another reason to spend eternity inventing a way to kill human ghosts."

Harley got up, stifling a snort. Dropping the subject, he looked around, noticing that the entire area was obscured away by a deep fog. "Why is it so foggy?"

"My own personal security system."

"It's supposed to hide Turnback Cave?"

"No shit, Sherlock." Giratina rolled her eyes. "If a human mortal even tried to make their way in here, I would have no choice but to kill them, and I'd really hate to dirty my floors…"

Harley gulped at that. He had never expected the legendary Giratina to be so…rude? And mean. And harsh. And arrogant. Needless to say, this blew away the natural definition of an all-powerful pokemon.

"What about pokemon?" Harley then asked, reluctantly following Giratina as she began to make her way into Turnback Cave. He eyed how flocks of zubat eyed the basilisk as she passed under them, watching from the cave's spiky ceiling. "They seem to be allowed in just fine."

"Because they're not pain in the asses."

Harley blinked at that, but said nothing more.

Minutes passed as Giratina led the way through Turnback Cave, which consisted of multiple tunnels that carried an eerie glow among their black-colored, craggy walls. A faint wail seemed to course through the labyrinth like blood through a vein - wind that was imprisoned within the despondent atmosphere. Harley mentally urged Giratina to hurry up; it was bad enough that he was dead, but being surrounded by even deader things wasn't really improving his mood.

"Where am I supposed to be judged?" he asked, sounding eager.

"In the middle of the cave," Giratina said, stepping around a corner. Her voice was calm, contradicting his – and it seemed that this was on purpose. "We're almost there. Inject yourself with a chill syringe, human."

Harley growled. "I got a name, you know."

"Oh?" Giratina turned her head, eyeing him out of the corner of her eye. "Is that true? Wow, I would've never guessed, completely ignoring the traditions humans have lived by for the longest-ass time of naming their offspring. Well…what is your name? Bob? Jeff? Antonio? People who never look like an 'Antonio' are always named 'Antonio.' Humans make no damn sense-"

"Harley. My name's Harley."

"Harley? Honestly? You look more like an 'Antonio' to me."

Harley frowned. "I'd prefer you'd call me Harley than every other name in the book-"

"Shut it, plumnut," Giratina muttered.

Harley stifled another growl, putting a hand to his head, hoping that the center of Turnback Cave wasn't much farther...

* * *

"Oi…we're here."

Harley raised his head at that, eyebrows rising at the sight of a square-shaped platform that sat in the middle of a room, taking up most of it. Four large pillars rose up from its corners, and it all seemed to be made of a black marble-like material that didn't match with the 'naturalness' of the cave all around it. Markings of some sort were written all along the pillars – hieroglyphics belonging to a civilization that was long gone.

"This is where I make contact with Arceus," Giratina said, "who tends to sit his lazy ass all the way up in the Hall of Legends…or Origins - or whatever the hell you want to call it – instead of coming down here once in a while and doing _me_ a favor. Anyway, it's also where ghosts like you get judged."

Harley only blinked, staring in awe at the ancient structure.

"Stop eye-humping it," Giratina growled, nudging him forward with her claw. "Get your ass up there and get judged so the world can keep spinning."

Harley wanted to glare, but held it in as he walked up onto the platform. He looked around as he did so, stopping in the middle, feeling his muscles tense in the anticipation of something happening. However…nothing happened.

"Now what?" he asked.

Giratina didn't answer, instead walking over to one of the pillars. She lightly tapped it with the tip of her wing, and it began to glow. The other pillars followed. And then-

_Yes_?

Harley nearly jumped as that word seemed to emerge from the emptiness above. The deep, powerful voice that had uttered it echoed throughout the room; Harley felt himself shiver in intimidation.

Giratina, however, didn't seem affected at all. She gazed at the glowing pillars with boredom. "I've brought an earthbound ghost that needs judging, Arceus."

Silence seemed to cover the room, as if the speaker of the voice was in deep thought.

_Very well_, Arceus eventually said. _Let me determine where this spirit is to go._

Harley looked down; the marble tiles that made up the platform were now glowing as well, emitting a bright blue light that made the ghost squint.

A heavy hum vibrated through the walls of the room. _Harley…_Arceus said. _You're…not fully deceased. You're in a coma. Strange. Cases like yours do not come around often._

"If it's any kind of help," Giratina muttered, "then you can just send him back to his body." She looked at him. "That way, he can forget all about this and I can forget all about him."

_That is an option, yes_, Arceus said.

Harley felt a small smile tug at his lips. If he were returned to his body, then everything would be solved! He would be back with his beloved pokemon and he could continue with his career as a coordinator!

"Well?" Giratina snorted. "What's the verdict?"

_Harley is a complicated one, Giratina_, Arceus muttered. _He has committed many sins, but also…he has done good things as well. Determining where he is to be sent is a hard decision to make._

"Oh please. Just close your eyes, pick a place, and send him there. It's not like it's gonna matter."

_Yes, it would, Giratina. The risk of sending him to a place where he was not destined to go is a violation against the powers I carry. I cannot ignore my duty as a legendary; that would break the natural laws life has been built to follow._

Giratina mumbled something – presumably an insult – and stepped back. Arceus continued to read Harley's life.

For the next few minutes, it was silent again. Harley looked around, feeling impatient, though he wasn't brave enough to admit this out loud.

_Harley…_Arceus suddenly said.

Harley stood up straight.

_…I'm afraid I cannot determine where you are to go at the moment._

"_What_?" Giratina snarled.

_I am going to need some time to pass proper judgment, _Arceus continued. _Giratina, you are to watch over his spirit until I come to a decision._

"You're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding. _You're_ not even that cruel, Arceus."

_Be patient, Giratina. It is your duty as a legendary to help with obstacles like this. Watch over Harley until I reach a conclusion. That is final._

"_Arceus_-!" Giratina roared, but before she could utter any more, the pillars dimmed.

Arceus had ended their connection.

"Damn you!" Giratina hissed. "I oughta go up there and kick your holy ass!"

"I'm stuck here?" Harley said, his voice barely above a whisper. He buried his face in his hands, groaning. "I can't believe this!"

"Don't go bitchin' when you're not the one who has to deal with you!" Giratina snarled. She slammed one of her claws into the nearby wall, not acknowledging how small chunks of the ceiling crumbled down in response. "I'll damn my damn self if I have to sit around waiting for that…white-furred donkey!"

Harley blinked. Despite everything, he wasn't even as angry as Giratina seemed to be. He frowned, placing his hands on his hips. "Now who's the one who has to 'inject themselves with a chill syringe'?"

Giratina glared at him, wanting to shoot a hyper beam in his direction. But she knew that that wouldn't do much; it would just go right through him and make a big hole in her wall.

So, she stomped up the platform and right to him, putting her face so close to his it made him swallow his tongue.

"Listen, _human_," she hissed between her gritted fangs, "you're going to mind your own damn business as you stay here. You're not to leave the cave for _any_ purpose – mainly because you can't get far away from me or the cave anyway – but also because I don't want you causing any more trouble than you've already had." She pulled back, on which Harley inhaled sharply. "First thing tomorrow, we're gonna head to the Hall of Legends, and I'm going to make sure Arceass sends you somewhere. I don't care where. As long as you're out of my face and I don't have to see yours ever again, everything should run smoothly. _Understand_?"

With that, she turned around and left the room.

Harley shivered. Regardless of how Giratina had teased him when they first met at the hospital, annoyed by his ways, he hadn't seen as much anger in her eyes then as he had just did. Did he really make her so angry? It was as if he had committed a crime that affected her personally…

He looked up at the direction Giratina had gone in. He was curious, but also frightened. He didn't want to face her at the moment. If anything, he wanted to find a nook he could hide himself in until morning, where they would then go to this 'Hall of Legends' and Arceus would send him where he was destined to go – whether that would be to the Afterlife, or back to the sanctuary of his body and previous routine.

Slowly, Harley walked down from the platform, wondering where he could go.

As far as he knew, he didn't need to be judged. He was already in hell.

* * *

**To Be Continued**

* * *

Oh boy...


End file.
